Plymouth Argyle's pitch "significantly damaged" after break-in
The trespassers' started up a tractor and drove it across the grounds
Plymouth Argyle has reported criminal damage at Home Park following a break-in at the stadium.
Individuals broke through perimeter fencing on Saturday night (4 June), before entering the grounds team’s storage garage to gain access to a tractor.
Having started the ignition with tools, they proceeded to drive the tractor across the Home Park pitch, which the club say is at an "early and crucial stage of renovation" ahead of the 22/23 season.
Argyle say it resulted in "significant damage".
Inscapes, the company which supports the Argyle ground staff with their annual pitch renovations across the stadium, first-team and Academy pitches, will make an additional trip to Home Park as soon as possible to re-germinate the playing surface.
However, the club say there is no guarantee that the damage from the incident can be repaired instantly.
They say the work comes at an additional cost and places them under "further pressure", with an already tight turnaround for scheduled pre-season matches.
The club say they will also be upscaling security at the stadium to ensure that this does not happen again.
A statement on Plymouth Argyle's website said: "It should go without saying, but any true supporter of Argyle would not engage in such mindless destruction.
"The trespassers' ability to efficiently break down newly installed fencing with specific tools, before accessing the grounds team’s garage and recently-installed roof lighting control system suggests that the intruders had a solid operational knowledge of Home Park, and the club will be lending its full support to the police in an attempt to see these individuals identified and punished accordingly.
"Police visited the stadium on Sunday to collect fingerprints and gather information, which includes a reasonable amount of CCTV footage which should go some way towards identifying the individuals responsible.
"We are unable to publish images of the individuals at this time as the police are now leading an active investigation. CCTV footage may be released by Devon and Cornwall Police in the coming days to support their investigation efforts."
The club are urging anyone who may have any information that could be of assistance with the investigation to contact Devon and Cornwall Police, citing case reference number CR/048962/22. Supporters can also send any relevant information to feedback@pafc.co.uk.